A Fool's Collection: Redux
by DeathsFool
Summary: From the guy that brought you "Arc (A working title)" (but never finished it, the jerk), a new repository for random ideas that had to written down. Unlike my previous collection, more of these will focus on different characters, in spite of chapter 1's contents. As with my previous collection of ideas, none of these are meant to be taken too seriously.


**Chapter 1: SMT: Persona X RWBY**

Grimm.

Creatures of darkness. The eternal threat that loomed over the horizon, drawn to the darker aspects of the human psyche. Like a moth to a candle, or rather, a child to its mother.

For these creatures, so loathed and feared by humanity, had been born from the collective darkness within the human soul, and like a tumor, sought to kill the very thing that had given them life.

And in spite of humanity's best efforts, so long as they themselves existed, so too would the grimm.

"But is that not evidence of the strength of the human heart?" the masked man asked, "That such darkness exists and yet is incapable of ending it outright?"

He watched as man struggled against the impossible odds, sometimes faltering, but never breaking. Always willing to push themselves forward.

The creature, an ever shifting being who wore multiple different faces, laughed at the masked man in response. "The strength of the human heart? Surely you jest. If these humans were are strong as you claim, those creatures would not exist," it then smiled malevolently, "for that matter, neither would I."

The scene changed. Creatures of darkness drawn to the negativity present in the human heart. Those creatures laying waste to the settlement as the humans residing in it simply gave up and embraced the end.

The masked man smiled and shook his head. "Outliers. Overall, the human heart is strong. Have we not established that by now?"

The creature snorted. "Different worlds, and may I remind you how close the whole thing was?"

"I must admit, I never thought that a group of teenagers would prove to be your undoing."

The Creature snarled. "Only because you empowered them!" it howled furiously.

"And you had your own champions. Those you could directly interact with," the masked man faced his companion resolutely, "and yet you still failed."

For a moment, silence descended upon them, broken only by the creature's snarls and growls.

"…another wager then, for the souls of this world." The creature finally spoke.

"Oh?" The masked man replied, curious in spite of himself, "What do you propose?"

"Let us see how the strength of the human heart holds up in this world," the creature answered, a harsh smirk on its many faces, "I will withdraw all interest in this world should your champions prevail."

"And you will destroy them all if they fail." The masked man commented.

The creature's smirk widened.

The masked man smirked back. "Very well, let us see what you have learned from our previous wagers."

The creature simply laughed in response.

* * *

The man glared up at the creature that descended upon them, intent on exterminating all life on Remnant.

His companions were sprawled before him, unable to stand up to the creature's power.

"How?" he heard one of them ask through grit teeth, "How are you able to stand?"

The man, Julius Arc, briefly glanced at Vergil Schnee, the man that had asked the question. He chose to ignore him, however, as he prepared to face the rapidly approaching monster.

There was no time to explain.

"Wait…what are you doing?!" the Spring Maiden demanded, desperately attempting to stand. Using the formidable powers granted to her by the mantle of the Spring Maiden, she actually began to do so, before a crashing wave of malice sent her back down.

All his companions fell once more.

"You can't…" The Fall Maiden managed to speak as the waves of malice crashed down upon them, "…you can't go alone!"

"Damn it, let us help you!" Adrian Nikos, his erstwhile companion, implored.

But there was no time. Marshalling the power of his Arcana, Julius willed the world to obey, and it did. He began to ascend towards the monstrosity in the sky.

"Wait! Please!" The Summer Maiden begged as she tried to rise to her feet.

The Winter Maiden looked up at him. "Get back here!" and it was just like her that this wasn't a request or a plea, but rather, a demand.

In spite of himself, Julius smiled.

He had to do this. For the world…for them. For the people whose lives he had touched and who had touched his in turn.

Another wave of malice crashed down, silencing his companions.

The power of the Maidens was formidable, and they had made to sure to clear a path to his destiny. For this he would be forever grateful. But now their powers had been all but expended. It was his turn to make a difference.

It was time to start repaying his debt to them.

It was Ozma's voice that finally made him speak, however. "Julius…" he said with great effort, "If you do this, you will die."

"I know," Julius replied quietly, although he knew he'd been heard, "but this is the only way to stop what _she_ has wrought."

"…I'm sorry." Ozma replied just as quietly.

"Don't be," Julius replied kindly, "just…promise to look after my family."

"I swear it."

* * *

**Velvet Room**

Igor looked up and closed his eyes, whispering a soft prayer. His assistant, Agatha noticed this.

"Our guest has fallen then." She stated, her voice barely above a murmur.

"Indeed." Was her reply, "truly a remarkable guest," the old man continued, "may he find peace."

"May he find peace." Agatha repeated.

After a few brief moments of silence, Igor, the proprietor of the Velvet Room spoke up after a sigh. "I have been in existence far longer than most can claim, and yet, I have never witnessed such an event…this is the longest wager I have seen our master and his counterpart play out."

Agatha said nothing, simply lacking the experience and the knowledge to know how she should reply.

"They changed the very course of this world's fate from its inception," the old man went on, "one by providing mankind with their greatest enemy, the other by empowering their souls…"

Again, she said nothing.

Then he chuckled. "They are worshipped as gods by some in this world. The 2 brothers," the old man laughed again, "…only humans can understand something so well and still be so horribly mistaken."

And just as suddenly as he had laughed, he sighed softly. "I wonder…when will our next guest appear? And will they be one to finally bring this to an end?"

Agatha finally spoke up. "I sincerely hope it will not take as long as our last one did in appearing."

The old man chuckled once more. "We can only hope…"

Unbeknownst to them, the Crawling Chaos laughed as his piece was sacrificed to take out his counterpart's champion.

The wager was not over, oh no. He was in for the long game this time.

"And so, the plot thickens…" he managed between chortles, "Did you know, Philemon, that pride comes before the fall? That one must reach their height before they come crashing down?" His eyes took on a malicious glint. "I will show you just exactly what I have learned…"

* * *

**Domrémy**

Jaune Arc had a dream.

It was a dream he'd had since he was much, much younger.

You see, Jaune Arc wanted to be a hero. Which was unfortunate, since his father, whom young Jaune positively idolized, refused to train him, even though he was a certified hunter himself.

Not that Jaune would let such a small thing as lack of training or weapons or skill stop him from achieving his dreams.

And today, he would take an important step into making his dream a reality.

Making sure no one was around, he silently crept out of bed and made his way to the living room, where his father's armor and weapons were displayed behind a display case.

"I'm sorry, father, everyone," he whispered, so as to not wake anyone up or give away what he was doing, "I promise I'll make it up to you one day."

And he opened the case and took those items with him and left a note he'd written before hand before making his way out of the house and towards the city of Vale, where his destiny awaited.

* * *

**Beacon Academy**

"This is alarming." The headmaster of the most prestigious hunter academy in Vale muttered as he read the reports.

"Agreed," his deputy, Glynda Goodwitch, the bane of many a student intoned, "but it gets worse."

The headmaster grimaced. "Do tell."

"Not only is the frequency of the grimm attacks increasing, but so is White Fang activity."

"The enemy is making its move then." The headmaster said.

"Why now?" Glynda wondered, "What compels the Queen to act now?"

"Alas, her motives have always eluded me," Ozpin admitted with a small frown, "we can only hope we are prepared to weather the oncoming storm…"

He looked out the window and let out a deep breath.

Ozpin had felt it. By the powers granted to him by the masked man, he had been able to feel the power of the Seal…weakening.

For what seemed like the thousandth time in this last week alone, he felt the years crashing down on him. A deep, soul wrenching weariness that sapped away at his will.

"I believe a walk will do me good," he informed his deputy, "thank you for the report and please rest. The new applicants will be arriving in 2 weeks." He stood and walked his deputy down to the ground floor of his tower.

Goodwitch sighed. "I am well aware. I can only hope that Port and Oobleck have finished their preparations."

In spite of his weariness, the headmaster smiled. "I'm sure they have. Good night, Glynda."

She nodded. "And to you, headmaster." And they parted ways.

He left the office and walked towards the main courtyard, dimly aware of the full moon that night, where the statue that he himself had commissioned so many lifetimes ago stood proudly.

"What would you do, my friend?" he asked the statue, "What would you have me do?"

He sighed once more. "When was the last time we had a Fool to guide the way?" he whispered with a small smile.

He looked up at the night sky and the stars shining brightly above.

* * *

**Vale**

After 3 days of travel, a tired but excited Jaune finally reached his destination, where he managed to ask for directions to the Club.

Yes, the Club with capital "C".

This was part 2 of his infallible "Possibly Can't Fail" operation.

Tonight, he would be acquiring his transcripts! What did it matter if he didn't actually have the skills? His papers would show he was a capable, aspiring hunter that any Academy would be lucky to have!

It just sucked that it had basically cost all the money he'd made from working various part time jobs for the last 4 years.

Yes, 4 years. Never let it be said that Jaune Arc was NOT a hard worker!

He hummed happily to himself as he approached a building that proudly displayed "The Club" in bright neon lights.

'_Man, this party must be something else.'_ He thought to himself. Why, it almost seemed as though the building itself was shaking!

"Good night." He nodded politely to people he passed by. Oddly enough, they all seemed to be running _away_ from the club, but Jaune just assumed it was some sort of event.

The panicked looks and screams were surely just from the sheer amount of partying they'd been doing, right?

It was only as he got closer that he realized that the building actually was, in fact, shaking.

He noticed a man wearing a red suit by the entrance screaming frantically into his earpiece.

"Hey, man, the party must be crazy, huh?" Jaune asked cheerfully.

"What the- "the man did a double take, "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm here to talk to…" Jaune reached into his jacket and pulled out a piece of crumpled paper, "…Junior."

"Are you insane?!" the man demanded, making Jaune flinch, "Get out of here!"

"B-but I paid a lot of money!" Jaune protested.

"Can't you see what's going on?" the man asked harshly.

"What?" Jaune asked.

"There's a crazy broad dest-" the man was interrupted when a piece of the wall was torn off the building and sent flying towards the poor man.

"What the-!" Jaune screamed and threw himself back.

"Man, that was fun!" the most beautiful blonde girl he'd ever seen walked out of the hole she'd presumably torn off the building. She then seemed to notice him.

Jaune tried to crawl away and failed miserably.

"Oh, hey there!" she walked towards him.

'_Nonononononono get away, get away!'_ he shrieked internally.

"C'mon, let's get you up!" she said cheerfully as she extended her arm towards him.

Jaune flinched.

"I promise I won't bite~!" the cheerful blonde said.

Jaune hesitantly took her hand. She pulled him up. "Anyways, I have to bounce. See you around, man!" she said before leaping off.

…

…

"What the hell?!" Jaune screamed.

* * *

All in all, the night hadn't been_ too_ bad, all things considered. After mustering up the courage to go inside, Jaune had finally met up with Junior, who was in bad shape.

After finding the man some ice and then doing the same for 2 of the most beautiful, pale girls he'd ever seen, they'd sat down to talk.

Jaune had offered to call them an ambulance, but that offer had been summarily rejected.

Fortunately, Junior was relatively honorable and had offered him his transcripts.

Jaune went back to his cheap motel room and pulled out the transcripts from his manila envelope.

As he read through them, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable by the picture that the transcripts painted. A highly skilled, competent trainee with a bright future.

'_I'll make that future my own!'_ he swore to himself. He was going to surpass this version of himself that existed only on paper!

So thinking, he looked through the other documents he had to send to the academy when he noticed one last, paper.

"What's this?" he wondered. Unlike the other documents, this one did not have Beacon's official logo on it. Even more interesting, the document only had one line on it.

"I chooseth this fate of mine own free will." He read out loud.

Huh. Well, it came with the documents Junior had given him, so Jaune figured it was important.

With a shrug, Jaune signed it and put it, along with all his other papers, back into the envelope. He would mail them tomorrow morning.

* * *

**Beacon Academy**

"Headmaster, this arrived today." Glynda informed him as she handed him a set of documents.

"Oh?" he took the documents and nearly had a heart attack. "Jaune…Arc?"

"Indeed," Glynda glared at the papers distastefully, "this Jaune Arc has apparently decided to send in his transcripts this late."

His eyes widened. But this…this was…Nicholas Arc, Jaune's father, had been a student of his once upon a time, and Ozpin knew that he never would've trained his son.

And yet, Jaune Arc had applied to Beacon?

Of course, there was no guarantee that Jaune would possess the same power as his ancestor, but still, an Arc?

Furthermore, a silver eyed warrior who was descended from Julius's companions along with Pyrrha Nikos and Weiss Schnee? That, with Jaune Arc, made for 4 confirmed descendants of the original group that had fought the darkness with him.

Lesser men may have said it was simple coincidence.

Not Ozpin.

And especially not when the Crawling Chaos's agents were becoming active again.

Something stirred within him. Fear? Hope? Regardless, the hand of fate was moving and Ozpin would not ignore it. "We'll accept him."

"Sir?" Glynda's eyes widened slightly.

Ozpin simply smiled in response.

* * *

**Vale**

Jaune still couldn't believe it. He'd been accepted! Him!

Oh, he was going to attend Beacon, learn how to be a hunter and become a hero!

He had to quash down the urge to dance and burst into song again, like he had done so after he'd read his acceptance letter.

Of course, he still had a problem. Not knowing how to fight? Not knowing what to expect in class? Oh no, Jaune was lost. LOST.

"Where are the airdocks?" he wondered out loud as he made his way through the busy city.

He supposed he could ask one of the many people that were moving about, but truth be told, the thought never occurred to him as he studied his map, which he'd managed to purchase in a tourist stand.

"Okay, think, Jaune, think," he muttered to himself, "you spent the night here, then made your way here, which means…"

He looked up from his map and studied his surroundings.

"…which means I'm absolutely lost. Where am I?!"

'_So, you wish to be a hero?'_

Jaune froze and jumped up, startled. He looked around, but even though there were a lot of people shuffling about, none seemed to be paying him any attention.

"Must have been my imagination." He chuckled nervously.

'_Your fate is in the cards…'_

He damn near screamed in panic. This was not his imagination! There was a voice that seemed to inside his head and it wasn't his own!

'…_they all indicate your end comes, and with it, the calamity…'_

"W-who's there?" he asked nervously, only to be ignored or perhaps unheard by all the people around him.

'_But have faith, for your destiny is not yet set.'_

He looked around in panic and blinked when he saw a bright, blue glow, fluttering in the air. He looked around to see if anyone else had noticed, but no one else seemed to be paying any kind of attention.

The bright blue glow got closer to him.

'_The bonds you forge will empower you. They will guide you.'_

As it got closer, Jaune noticed it was a butterfly. A glowing, blue butterfly. Enthralled, Jaune followed after it as it fluttered away.

'_Go forth, and challenge your fate. I wish you the best of luck, Jaune Arc.'_

The blue glow suddenly intensified, giving him no time to panic as heard his own name. He couldn't even take a step back as the glow surrounded him and intensified even further, blinding him.

And just as suddenly as it had come, the blinding light vanished.

Jaune stared, too shocked to say anything.

"Hey, you alright?" a voice broke through his haze of fear and confusion.

"W-what?!" he jumped up.

"Whoa, whoa!" and that's when he noticed a familiar blonde girl holding her hands up, "Just asking if you're alright. You seemed kinda out of it."

And that was when Jaune noticed that he wasn't alone. He was surrounded by people, some who were staring at him.

"T-there was a-" Jaune took a deep breath, "-there was a butterfly."

The girl stood there silently before bursting out into laughter, "What, you scared of bugs?"

"N-no!" he protested. Okay, he was, but only of spiders, cockroaches, bees, and….and…okay, he was afraid of bugs.

She held out her hand. "Well, my name's Yang Xiao Long."

He hesitantly reached for the offered hand. There were so many things bothering him right now, "J-Jaune Arc."

She gave him an easy smile. "Easy there, Butterfly Man!"

"B-butterfly Man?!" he fired back, incredulously.

She nodded sagely. "Butterfly Man," and then she smiled again, "and this," and she suddenly dragged a small girl that had apparently been hiding behind her to the forefront, "is my sister, Ruby! Ruby, Butterfly Man, Butterfly Man, Ruby." She introduced them.

The tiny girl made an adorable squeal of surprise. "Y-Yang! Don't do that!"

"Aww, c'mon, Rubes! You're going to have to meet new people some day!" Yang replied cheerfully.

"No, I don't," Ruby protested, "I have you and Crescent Rose."

Yang chuckled. "Rubes, he's right here, y'know?" and she gestured at him. For his part, he could only stare above the blonde's head.

"Oh!" Ruby looked down at the ground, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend."

Jaune looked at her, or again, directly above her head.

"Umm…Butterfly Man? You there?" he heard Yang ask. He looked at her, or again, directly above her.

"What? Do I have something?" Yang asked before gasping in horror, "Do I…do I have something in my hair?" she whispered, eyes wide with terror.

"Nope, you seem fine, sis." Ruby replied in his stead.

Yang breathed out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank gods," and then she glared at him, but he was still staring directly above her, "hey, why'd you go and scare me like that."

Jaune blinked and finally looked at her. "Oh! I'm sorry, I just… I just thought I saw something."

Yang gave him the stink eye just a bit longer before smiling. "See, Rubes? This guy's just as socially awkward as you! You guys can talk about outing you've messed up, foot-in-mouth syndrome, and-"

"YANG!" Ruby yelped indignantly as she jumped up and tried to cover her sister's mouth and Yang laughed as she stopped all of Ruby's attempts to do so.

Normally, Jaune would've laughed at this, but right now, all he could do was stare at the people around him.

Or rather, directly above them.

He looked back at Yang and Ruby and couldn't help but stare again.

Why…why did Yang have a floating "VI"? Why did Ruby have a "XI"?

He looked around again, at the other people around the area. Why did they all have ancient Mistralian numerals above them? And what did it mean?

There was something else that he'd noticed. Yang.

She was the girl from the club, the one that had apparently destroyed it. As afraid as he was of her, he could say will all certainty that she did NOT have a floating numeral the first time he'd met her.

Just exactly what was going on?

"Anyway, are you an applicant too?" he heard Yang ask.

"An applicant?"

"Yeah, to Beacon." She replied with a nod.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" he asked, eyes wide.

She laughed. "Because the only people here right now are applicants?"

Here?

Jaune looked around and his eyes widened as he realized he was in the airdocks.

Somehow, following that butterfly had worked.

"Well, I hope you'll get in, Butterfly Man."

Again, Yang brought him out his thoughts.

"T-thanks, you too," he glanced at Ruby, "and you too, Ruby, hope to see you in class."

"T-thank you." She replied, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Bleh, socially awkward people!" Yang said with a small grin. She waved as she left, Ruby following after her.

The numerals were still above them.

Shaking his head, he made his way to the docked dustplane.

Oh gods, he hated planes, he hated planes, he REALLY hated planes.

'_Take a deep breath, Jaune. Relax. You've made it to Beacon, all you need to do now is not do anything that'll embarrass you.'_

His stomach lurched.

'_I'm gonna be sick!'_

It was unfortunate that he, along with all members of the Arc family, were cursed.

He closed his eyes and tried to force himself to relax. Oh gods, he was already called "Butterfly Man", he didn't want to add something like "Vomit Boy" to that list!

Cursed with motion sickness. Honestly, busses were bad enough, but dustplanes?

His stomach did a flip and he had to fight to keep his breakfast in there.

Why, oh why, did Beacon Academy have to be in some cliffs in the middle of nowhere, requiring planes to get there?!

Still, it would be worth it. He smiled as imagined the training he'd receive, the skills he would develop…

He didn't even notice that he had achieved something that no Arc in history had as his consciousness managed to drift while in a flying coffin...

* * *

Jaune wearily opened his eyes and then immediately closed them.

He took a deep breath and opened them again.

A man with a nose that would make elephants approve sat on a velvet chair. The old man had a wide, cryptic grin and wore a sharp suit that Jaune would probably never be able to afford, "Welcome to the Velvet Room, young man."

"What?" Jaune looked down at his laps and noticed that he too, was on a velvet chair, "Where am I? What's happening?" There was a table between him and the old man, and he was no afraid to use that to run away should the need arise.

He looked around and noticed a beautiful, pale blonde woman with golden eyes in a velvet uniform standing beside the old man. She smiled at him when she noticed him looking at her. He appeared to be in a train compartment, although he had no idea where the destination was.

"This," the old man gestured around him, that wide grin still in his face, "is the Velvet Room. It is a place that exists between mind and matter, between dreams and reality."

Faced with such an absurd statement, Jaune immediately asked the question that would pierce to the heart of the matter and put his curiosity to rest.

"Huh?"

Instead of answering him, the old man gestured to himself, "My name is Igor, delighted to make your acquaintance. And this," he gestured at the woman beside him, "is Agatha. She is a resident here, like myself."

Agatha's smile again. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise." He replied automatically, years of his mother drilling manners into him making themselves known. He then paused, "Wait, seriously, where am I? The last thing I remember is the dustplane and then…"

His eyes widened as realized that he was in a moving train compartment.

And his stomach wasn't killing him.

"…t-this is a dream, isn't it?" he asked, trying to calm himself down.

The old man nodded, that grin never leaving his face, "Indeed. Only those who are bound by the contract may enter this room." He waved his gloved hand and a familiar document appeared on the table.

'_I chooseth this fate own mine own free will…'_

Jaune's eyes widened. "T-that's…!"

"My duty is to provide assistance to our guests, so that they might achieve their full potential," the old man went on, completely ignoring his little outburst, "all I ask is that you abide by the contract and take responsibility for your actions."

Was this old man giving the talk? He wondered hysterically.

The old man reached into his suit and drew a velvet key and offered it to him. Jaune numbly accepted it.

"But alas, time marches on in your world," the old man's grin seemed to widen, "we shall meet again."

"What? But I have more-" he began even as his vision began to blur.

* * *

"-questions!" Jaune blurted out, causing the people around him to give him weird looks. Panicked, Jaune looked around noticed he was back on the flying coffin.

Was he…was he going insane?

He once again looked around. Well, on the bright side, no long-nosed man.

On the other hand, he frantically reached into his pocket and felt something in there, even though he was sure he carried nothing on him.

Jaune hesitantly pulled it out.

A velvet key.

It was official. The world had stopped making sense.

How else could one explain the things that were happening to him, or the fact that the plane was landing and he hadn't emptied the contents of his stomach?

* * *

**Beacon Academy**

Today had been quite the interesting day, Jaune decided. Glowing butterflies, floating numerals, and helping out and possibly befriending Ruby, whom he had begun referring to as Crater Face in retaliation for her use of "Butterfly Man" and the headmaster's…speech.

Jaune shivered.

The headmaster, a grey-haired man who walked with a cane, who had a floating "XX" above him, had given a short, concise speech to the assembled applicants.

Frankly, it had felt as though the older man had been staring directly at him.

Jaune shook his head and decided to take a bathroom break before going to sleep, not that he thought he'd be able to actually grab some sleep, given that tomorrow would be their Initiation.

It all depended on his performance tomorrow!

He made his way out of the hall and nearly bumped into someone.

"Oh, sorry!" he said, only to freeze as he realized who he was talking to.

"That's quite alright." The headmaster replied.

Jaune could only stare, horrified at what he'd done.

"You are Jaune Arc, correct?" the headmaster asked.

The headmaster already knew who he was? Oh, this wasn't good!

"Y-yes, sir!" he replied immediately. Had he already messed up? Oh, gods, had his transcripts been discovered?

The old man took a sip from his thermos before replying, "Hmm…Yes, I can see a resemblance to Julius."

"Julius, sir?" Jaune asked hesitantly. So he wasn't getting kicked out and then sent to jail?

"Ah, forgive me," the old man said after a thoughtful pause, "I meant your distant ancestor."

"My ancestor, sir?" he honestly felt like a parrot at this point.

The headmaster smiled. "Yes, Julius Arc. I believe it was he who brought the Arc family into prominence."

"Really?" Jaune asked.

"Yes, he was a hero of the greatest caliber, a powerful fighter and a good man to call a friend." The headmaster replied.

"It almost sounds as though you knew him personally, sir." Jaune commented with a smile, thinking about the long line of heroes that he was descended from.

The headmaster's smile widened. "Do I? I apologize. That was long before this life."

"Do you know a lot about him then, sir?" Jaune had to ask.

The headmaster hummed thoughtfully. "Bits and pieces. They said he could empower his allies, and summon mythical creatures at his side to fight with him…"

"Whoa, really?!"

"…and that his own companions could summon these beings themselves," the headmaster shook his head ruefully, "simply legends, I'm sure. Regardless, I wish you good fortune, Mr. Arc. I hope to see you do well."

"T-thank you!"

"But I must bid you good night. I have my duties to attend to, and you no doubt need to rest before initiation."

Jaune nodded. "Y-yes, thank you, sir!"

Ozpin watched the young man head off and sipped at his thermos. "He really does remind me of you…"

* * *

**Emerald Forest**

Today had started off relatively nicely, with him having finally learned what the white-haired girl from the previous day was called (Weiss, by the way), and having also met her friend, a Pyrrha Nikos.

Then things had gone to hell faster than Jaune ate his Pumpkin Pete's in the mornings when the headmaster had decided to launch them all off a cliff for their test.

Jaune screamed as flew through the air.

Oh gods, was this how he would die? But he hadn't even killed his first grimm yet! He hadn't saved anyone, or worse, gotten a girlfriend!

He was still screaming when something flew his way and pierced his beloved hoodie, impaling him into a tree.

It took him a moment to stop to stop screaming and a few more to catch his breath.

Now what?

And then he heard the footsteps.

Grimm? He nearly had a heart attack until Weiss stepped into the clearing.

Thank you, gods!

"Hey," he waved, "how you doing?"

She blinked and then turned around and began to leave.

"Hey!" Jaune called out, "Please, wait!"

She left.

Damn you, gods!

He was about to actually yell at the skies when he noticed a note attached to the spear that was currently keeping him dangling like a piñata from a tree.

"I'm coming, please stay there?" he read out loud.

Huh. So, someone had intentionally saved him? Well…

Thank you, gods!

"Hello there," Jaune looked down and saw the redhead that had been talking to Weiss this morning, Pyrrha, smiling up at him, "I think you might have my spear."

Jaune stared at her incredulously, ignoring the floating "VII" above her before bursting into laughter, "Yes, I guess I do."

* * *

"Everyone has found a partner," Goodwitch said to him, "Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos."

Ozpin smiled. "This must be fate." He mumbled quietly.

"Sir?" she asked.

Ozpin shook his head. "It was nothing. How are the applicants doing?"

"Fairly well, although our cameras seemed to have picked up something…unusual." She replied as she went through the reports that the professors in the field had sent her.

"Oh?"

Her eyes narrowed. "There seems to be an unusually high level of grimm activity in spite of Port's efforts."

Ozpin frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she nodded, "furthermore, I'm getting reports of an anomaly near the relics."

"What do you mean?" Ozpin asked sharply.

Goodwitch went through the reports one more time, "It says that some kind of rift is opening up near the relics."

"Do we have visual?"

She nodded and handed him her scroll.

His eyes widened and he dropped it not even a few moments later. He stood up, and for the first time since she'd known him, she saw undisguised concern in his eyes.

"Sir?!"

"Get everyone out of there. Now!"

* * *

"Did you hear that?" Pyrrha asked.

Jauned nodded. "Yeah. Gunshots."

"Let's go." She said and they both began to make their way towards the source of the noise.

Pyrrha ran past a low branch, causing it to snap forward. Because their world had something called physics, the branch snapped back, slicing into Jaune's cheek.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha exclaimed, "Are you alright?"

Jaune smiled ruefully. "It stings a bit, but I should be fine." He replied, even as a thin, bloody line formed in his cheek.

"But why didn't your Aura protect you?" she asked, concerned.

"Aura?"

Pyrrha frowned. "Jaune, you do know what Aura is, right?"

Oh crap. Time to do what he did best.

"O-of course I know Aura is, do you know what Aura is?" he fired back.

Her frown widened. "Do you not have your Aura activated?"

"I…" in the end, it was the clear concern she had for him that compelled him to say the truth, "…don't even know what that is. Sorry."

She shook her head. "No, no, it's fine…but then, you didn't have your Aura all this time?"

Jaune shrugged. "First time hearing about it."

She pursed her lips. "Aura…Aura is the only thing that lets us fight the grimm. It's like a shield."

"Well, I got my shield right here!" Jaune declared cheerfully as he drew Crocea Mors.

She shook her head. "Jaune, close your eyes."

"O…kay?" and he complied. He felt her place her palm on his chest.

"For it is in our passing that we achieve immortality," she intoned, causing him to shiver. There was something about those words that resonated with something within him, "through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death," he felt something surge within him. Power dormant until now, finally beginning to awaken, "I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."

There was a bright flash of light, and for a moment, he saw the blue butterfly once more.

**I AM THOU… AND THOU ART I…**

He heard a deep voice call out to him.

And then he felt someone shaking him. "Jaune?!" He opened his eyes to his partner shaking him, "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah." In fact, he'd never felt better. He felt faster, stronger, more confident.

He felt _alive._

"I feel really good, actually!"

Pyrrha's smile was strained. "Regardless, be careful. I…couldn't seem to awaken all your Aura. Something blocked my attempts."

Concerning, but he still felt way better than he'd ever had.

"We'll figure it out later," he replied, "for now, let's get those relics."

* * *

"Is everyone out?" Ozpin asked.

"Not yet, 8 applicants are still out there." Glynda replied.

"Get them out of there." Ozpin replied, his voice harsher than he'd intended.

Glynda flinched. "We're- we're trying, but the grimm activity is far heavier than we'd expected."

"Hurry."

* * *

"You think the relic might be in there?" Jaune asked, gesturing at a cave they'd found, although he highly doubted it.

Just by looking around, he could tell this had been the scene of heavy combat. In fact, a gigantic carcass of what appeared to be a scorpion riddled with bullet holes was still dissolving.

Pyrrha shook her head. "No, I don't think the professors would've placed them so close to a deathstalker."

Jaune nodded, making note of the name "deathstalker". "Let's keep going then."

They both began to move again when they heard the unmistakable sound of combat.

With a silent nod, they both dashed towards the source, and found Yang and the black-haired girl with the ribbons dispatching wolf-like grimm.

Pyrrha immediately leapt forward, drawing her weapon and impaled one of the wolf-grimm on the back, killing it instantly and used its corpse to jump forward, before slamming down her weapon, which had now become a blade over another of the grimm.

"Hoo, boy, are you 2 a sight for sore eyes!" Yang commented as she dispatched one of the grimm with a well-placed punch on its throat.

"Are you 2 the only ones here?" Pyrrha asked after they'd finished off the last of them.

Jaune couldn't help but feel awed, and so, so small compared to his peers after such a display of skill. Gods, he hadn't even had the time to even _attempt _to fight one of the monsters…He was going to have to train hard.

"Yup, I mean, if you're not counting the grimm," Yang replied, "We've run into so many beowulves and ursae."

The black-haired girl nodded. "Their numbers seem to be increasing as we approach the temple," she gestured at a ruin, "the relics are there."

It was then that Jaune noticed how tired those 2 looked. They had probably been fighting a lot today.

"I know these are just small fry and that Beacon is for the best of the best," Yang added, making Jaune gape. These creatures were small fry? "But I swear, we've run into at least 80 of these things by my estimation."

Pyrrha pursed her lips. "We should hurry th-"

"Heeeey!" a familiar voice interrupted her. They all turned towards the source of the voice and saw Ruby and Weiss making their way towards them.

"Rubes!"

"Yang!"

The 2 sisters ran towards each other and hugged.

"You're alright!" Ruby exclaimed happily.

"Aww, I knew you'd be okay too!" Yang replied with a wide grin, "Did you run into any trouble?"

"We did see a nevermore, but one of the professors was fighting it," Ruby's eyes seemed to shine, "Oh, it was so cool! The nevermore couldn't even land a good hit on him!"

"Ahem," Weiss interrupted them, "we did run into an absurd amount of beowulves and ursae, however. Perhaps we should hurry?"

"Ooh, a group hug!" another voice interrupted their tender, sisterly moment, "Go, Mr. Fluffles, we must be part of it!" and not even a few moments later, an orange-haired girl riding a bear-grimm broke into their sight.

Yang Ruby let go of each other, startled by the sudden interruption.

'_XI…' _Jaune noted.

"Did that…did that girl just charge in on an ursa?" the black-haired girl asked out loud.

"Nora!" another voice they did not recognize called out, and a black-haired boy ran after the orange-haired cowgirl, "Don't ever do that again!"

'_XIV…'_

Nora, the cowgirl, jumped off the ursa jumped off of it as it began to dissolve. "Aww, I think I broke it."

Weiss's eye twitched. "Let's just…let's just go get the relics."

"Agreed." The black-haired boy replied as he massaged his temples, "I want this day to end."

They began to make their way to the temple even as Ruby and Yang chatted animatedly about this and that.

So, this was Initiation? Honestly, other than his impromptus flight, it sounded as though he and Pyrrha had gotten lucky and avoided most of the grimm.

"Ooh, are those the relics?" Nora asked as soon as they spotted what appeared to be chess pieces on a ornate board by the temple's entrance.

Without even waiting for an answer, she reached out, and took 4 pieces. "Here, catch!" she said cheerfully before throwing one piece at Weiss, who squawked indignantly and barely managed to catch it, a white knight piece from the looks of it. Nora then threw another piece at Yang who caught it with a thumbs up. Another knight piece.

"And one for you!" that was all the warning he got before Nora threw one piece at him.

"Meep!" he barely managed to catch it, using both hands to do so.

A rook piece.

"We should make our way back now." The black-haired girl stated.

"Wait, what's that?" Ruby asked, pointing at the floor beneath the remaining relics.

They all looked and saw…

To be honest, Jaune didn't know what it was. It appeared to be a jagged rift across the ground, red and angry, with black streaks that seemed to shimmer through it. It hurt his eyes to stare at it, so he looked away, feeling a headache beginning to form.

"What the hell?" Yang asked, unnerved, "You think this is part of the test?"

Even Nora, who had thus far appeared to be too hyperactive for her own good, was quiet. She picked up a nearby stone and threw it at the rift. Instead of falling through, they heard a clank as the stone hit the ground and simply stayed there, on top of the pulsating, unnatural thing.

"No," Weiss replied immediately, although she too seemed uncomfortable, "the headmaster did not mention this."

"It's expanding." The black-haired boy noted.

"What?"

He was right. The…rift was slowly but surely getting wider and longer, cutting a path across the temple's floor.

"We…should leave." Ruby said, shaking slightly.

"Y-yeah."

They all turned around to do so and then their eyes widened. "What the-!"

A dark cloud seemed to be making its way towards them, and it took Jaune a few moments to realize it was a tide of grimm, too many to count, rampaging towards them. Frankly, it was a miracle that he didn't wet his pants.

"Where did they come from?!" Yang demanded as she prepared for combat.

He stared at her, eyes wide. Was she going to fight?!

"We can't fight that many." The black-haired boy stated.

"Agreed."

"I think we sho-"

A loud cracking noise interrupted whoever was talking, and they all turned around again, and noticed the rift was shaking violently and more alarmingly, it was now only a few meters away from them.

"Seriously, what the hell is that thing?!"

Jaune's headache intensified. "Gah!" he clutched at his head. He keeled over.

"Jaune!" he dimly heard Pyrrha cry out.

Oh gods, his head hurt so much it felt like a jackhammer was drilling its way out from all sides and-!

**DOST THOU SEEK STRENGTH? **

Jaune cried out in pain as the headache became even worse. Images flashed through his mind. A woman, surrounded in darkness as fires burned around her. A blonde man standing up against her, a familiar sword and shield on his hands.

**THE STRENGTH TO PROTECT THINE ALLIES?**

"Y-yes…" he managed to spit out through grit teeth.

**THEN GO FORTH, AND MEET THINE FATE.**

Without thinking, Jaune approached the rift. To everyone else's shock, the moment he stepped into the rift, his foot went through.

"Jaune!" He heard someone cry out before he took another step and threw himself completely into the rift. The last thing he remembered was someone grabbing onto him.

* * *

"Jaune!"

He groaned and tried to ignore the voice.

"Jaune!"

"5…more…minutes…" he mumbled groggily.

"Jaune, wake up, please!"

He finally opened his eyes and saw Pyrrha, looking down at him, fear and concern clear in her eyes.

"P-Pyrrha?" he asked before rubbing his eyes, "What's happening?"

"I don't know! I grabbed you and we both fell into that…that thing!" she replied.

What?

He got up and noticed his surroundings for the first time. "W-where are we?" his voice was barely above a whisper.

It looked like Beacon, but it couldn't be. For one, the towers had jagged streaks of red running through them, and the walls were far darker than they should be. The forest beneath them was completely dark as well and unnaturally still, as if there was no breeze.

The sky was crimson, with dark lines pulsating in it.

"W-what is this place?"

"I…don't know." Pyrrha answered.

They both looked around in panic, wondering what they should do, where they should go, when Jaune spotted a familiar blue light.

'_Butterfly!'_

"Pyrrha, come with me!" he said before making his way towards the butterfly.

"W-what? Jaune, wait!" and she began to follow after him, "Where are we going?"

"Do you see that butterfly? I know this sounds stupid, but that butterfly has helped me out before!" Jaune replied.

"What? Butterfly? Helped you? Jaune, what are you talking about?"

He pointed at the insect. "That butterfly! I swear it's helped me out before."

"Jaune, there is no butterfly! Are you sure you're fine?" she asked, anger born from concern beginning to creep into her tone.

Jaune stopped. "Wait…you can't see the butterfly?" said butterfly fluttered in the air before him, close to Beacon's entrance, glowing blue.

Pyrrha shook her head.

"Not even a blue glow?" he pressed on.

Another shake of the head.

But then…why could he? Wait, what about the-

He reached into his pocket and sure enough, the velvet key that he was so sure he'd stuffed into his locker was there. He pulled it out.

"Can you see this?" he asked.

"See what?"

So, she couldn't it. He tapped his knuckles against it and heard the soft clank of metal. He threw it as far away as he could, but felt it in his pocket the moment it left his sight.

What. The. Hell.

'_Only those bound by contract may enter this place…'_

Did that mean only he could see and feel these things? He shook his head, regardless, the butterfly had not led his astray yet.

"Just…just follow me. I have a good hunch."

Pyrrha frowned but did as he asked, following after him.

They entered the castle and paused when they entered the courtyard. The fountains were not filled with water, but blood, and the grass was devoid of any color. The statues were all missing limbs.

"W-what is this place?" he heard Pyrrha choke out.

Jaune shook his head. "Ignore it. We need to find a way out."

The butterfly fluttered away towards a tower and then stopped by the entrance. It seemed to face Jaune.

'_Prepare yourself.'_

"Wha-" and that's as far as he got before the doors to the tower were blown off from the inside, and a much larger beowulve than the ones they'd seen before burst out, howling.

'_Stupid butterfly!'_

He threw himself away just in time to avoid the monster's claws. Pyrrha immediately jumped forward, attempting to stab it with her blade.

She clearly hit it, and made it stagger, but then the beast howled and swung its claws at her, which she ducked under and then used the creature itself as a springboard to throw herself away. Her spear became a rifle and she fire at it even as flew through the air.

Jaune drew Crocea Mors and swung it at the creature, only for the blade to be stopped by its claws.

Its red eyes shimmered with fury and that's when Jaune noticed that its size was not the only thing that made it different. He raised his shield and was able to block the creature's wide swing, which still sent him flying away.

This creature's mask had a "XI" etched on it. It howled and charged at a downed Jaune. His eyes widened in horror only for Pyrrha to meet the creature head on, cutting it off.

She was strong, and for the briefest of moments, Jaune allowed himself to hope that she could take it on.

That hope died the moment it managed to force its way past her blade and slammed into her shield. She was sent flying back but lander on her feet and immediately charged back at it.

Even to someone as unexperienced as him, he could tell she was moving slower. She was tiring while the creature showed no sign of slowing down.

Still, she tried, no matter how hopeless the situation seemed, she kept trying.

Was this the end then? What chance did HE have when Pyrrha was barely able to hold out against it? He stood up and raised his shield.

He had to save her. This was all his fault, for following the butterfly, for entering the rift, for choosing to apply to Beacon when it was obviously way above his level.

His fear turned to anger.

No, Pyrrha would not die today! He would not allow it!

And just as he made this declaration, he felt his headache come back full force and keeled over once more clutching at his head.

**I…AM THOU… AND THOU…ART I…**

**WHAT'S WRONG? WILL YOU STAND BY AND WATCH HER DIE?**

No! He was going to save her, godsdamn it!

**VERY WELL THEN. LET ME SEE YOUR RESOLVE! CALL FORTH WHAT IS WITHIN!**

A sudden sensation in his shield hand made him look down at it. In his grip was an ornate blue card. In spite of their situation, Jaune felt himself smile.

He raised his hand, still holding the card.

At that very moment, the monster had raised its massive claw, about to slam into Pyrrha, who had raised her shield in a desperate attempt to protect herself, when it paused and turned its gaze at him.

After a few seconds, so did Pyrrha. "J-Jaune?"

Jaune's smile widened and he opened his palm. Instead of falling, the card hovered over his open palm.

"Per…so…na." he said, his voice audible despite being barely louder than a whisper. He crushed card.

"AAAAAAAAARGH!" Jaune screamed as he was engulfed in blue flames. It was not a scream of pain, or fear. No, it was a cry of joy as his powers finally became unleashed.

His wide smile became a maniacal grin as he felt a presence manifest itself above him.

"**I AM THOU… AND THOU ART I… FROM THE SEA OF THY SOUL, I COME FORTH."**

"W-what is that?" Pyrrha asked, shocked.

The presence, a figure clad in fine chain mail, and wielding a deadly looking spear gave Jaune a nod.

"**I AM SETANTA, THE HERO WHO WOULD BECOME THE HOUND OF CULAIN."**

Jaune's grin widened and he charged at the beast, Setanta at his side. "Die!" Jaune yelled as he swung his blade at it. The creature howled and attempted to claw at him, only for it to be met by Setanta's spear. Jaune's blade easily sliced through the creature's arm, cutting it cleanly off. The creature reared back and howled and Setanta immediately followed it up by stabbing his spear forward, piercing through its skull.

He wasn't stronger than Pyrrha. Nor was he faster or more skilled.

The creature fell over, somehow still alive. Jaune roared and he stabbed his blade downwards, at its skull at the same time that Setanta did the same with his spear. The monster died instantly.

No, he definitely couldn't have done this without his newfound power…without his Persona.

And something told him that was the reason Pyrrha hadn't been able to kill it. Not because she wasn't strong enough, but because she lacked a Persona to empower her, to allow her to actually do damage to these things.

Just as well. It was his turn to protect her until they managed to get out this place.

He stood before the dissipating monster, his Persona floating in the air by his side.

"That was…amazing." He heard Pyrrha breathe out.

Broken out of his reverie, Jaune dismissed his Persona, receiving a nod from Setanta before it vanished. He walked towards his partner and held out his hand, "Are you okay?" he asked.

She took it and he pulled her up. "Y-yeah. What was that thing?"

"The monster or my Persona?" he asked.

She paused. "Yes."

He gave her a mock glare. "No one likes a smart aleck."

She giggled. "But seriously, what was that monster and what was that…Persona?"

Jaune looked at her. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know…" he admitted, "…I just felt this surge of power rise within me."

Pyrrha hummed thoughtfully. "That might have been your semblance." She said.

Semblance?

"Maybe, but for now, we should focus on getting out of here." He replied. He had so mane questions for her later though. Hunters and their technical jargon…

"How?" she asked.

'_Congratulations.'_

Jaune looked up and saw the blue butterfly once more, fluttering above them and had to resist the urge to swing his blade at it.

'_The exit is at the top of this tower. I wish you good luck, and be ready…'_

There was a bright flash and it vanished.

Jaune glared at the empty spot it had been. "Stupid butterfly."

"Jaune?"

He cleared his throat. "The exit is at the top of this tower. Follow me."

"But how do you know that?" she pressed on.

Jaune sighed. "A stupid butterfly told me."

"What?"

* * *

It took them some time to reach the top, but when they did, they both did a double take.

"What is that thing?" Pyrrha asked.

She meant the massive, blood red crystal that hovered in the center of the room.

"I'm…not sure." He replied.

"Do you think this…thing might be the exit?" she asked as she approached the crystal.

"_Ugh, think, think, think."_ A familiar, but unnatural voice stopped him from replying.

"Who's there?" Jaune asked.

"_What, don't recognize your own partner's voice?"_

Pyrrha's eyes widened. "That wasn't me."

"_Yes, it was."_ And another Pyrrha stepped out from behind that crystal.

"What the hell?" Jaune asked, "Pyrrha? Another Pyrrha?"

His partner had a similarly shocked look. "What's going on?"

The new Pyrrha looked at him, and that's when he noticed her amber eyes glowing with malice. She smiled, but unlike his partner's smile, which was full of warmth, this new Pyrrha's was downright cruel.

"_Oh, yes. And we have so much to talk about, ME."_

* * *

**Author's note:**

So, what's this? Well, this is a new repository for my ideas, where I plan to either expand, continue or simply remake an old idea from my other collection. As you might have noticed, this is a Persona x RWBY crossover, based on chapter 3 of "A Fool's Collection". I hope it made for a better read this time!

If you're wondering why this isn't A stroll through the moonlit world or Arc, well, in all honesty, I'm doing this to get myself back into writing. I've been feeling kind of out it and this is my way to combat that!

Anyway, any constructive criticism is welcome and gratefully accepted. If you enjoyed this short story, leave and like and subs- I think I need to stop wasting time on youtube.


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